Neck-yoke.



NiTiED TATES THOMAS DE LA MARE, oF TooELE CITY, UTAH.

NECK-YOK.

SPECIFICATION forming parte of Letters Patent No. 664,236, dated December 18, 1906.

Application led June l5, 1900.

T0 all whom, 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS DE LA MARE, a citizen of the United States, Vresiding at Tooele City, in the county of Tooele and State of Utah, have invented a new and useful Neck-Yoke, of which the following is a specication.

The in vention relates to improvements in neck-yokes.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of neck-yokes and to provide a simple, durable, and comparatively inexpensive one adapt-ed to swing backward and forward and oscillate horizontally and laterally to accommodate itself to the movements of a pair of horses.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which While being capable of moving freely will be securely retained on the pole or tongue and prevented from becoming accidentally displaced or disconnected.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combinat-ion and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully7 described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a neck-yoke center constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a neck-yoke and a pole. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 4'is a detail perspective View of the neck-yoke band, which is provided with a socket. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the bottom portion of the neckyoke band.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a neck-yoke band arranged on a Wooden neck-yoke 2 and split longitudinally at the top and provided thereat with ears 3, which are perforated for the reception of bolts or screws 4 for clampingthe band to the neck-yoke 2. The neck-yoke band is provided at the front with a keyhole-slot 5, having its enlarged portion 6 at its upper end and extending downward to a bottom socket 7 and permitting the head 8 of a stem 9 to bereadily introduced into the socket before the band is applied to the neck-yoke. The stem, which Serial No. 20;457. (No model.)

is formed integral with a ring 10, has a circu'- lar head 8, which is rounded at the bottom to conform to the configuration of the socket, and the upper face of the head is slightly rounded to permit the neck-yoke to rotate and oscillate freely. The socket 7 consists of an annular enlargement curved in cross-sec'- tion, and the lower end of the keyhole-slot is of less width than the diameter of the opening of the socket at the bottom thereof, and the stem is provided a short distance below the head with opposite recesses 1l, which per, mit the stem to be readily introduced into and removed from the socket when the band is taken off of the neck-yoke. The head of the stem 9 is inserted through the enlarged portion 6 of the keyhole-slot into the sleeve, and the notches or recesses are broughtin line with the edges at the contracted portion of the keyhole-slot 5, and the said stem is run down the said contracted portion of the slot until the-head rests in the bulged portion which forms -the socket 7. The stem is thus connected with the sleeve before the neck-yoke is inserted in the latter, and when the head of the stein is arranged in the socket 7 the notches or recesses 1l are carried away from t-he edges of the metal at the slot, and that portion of the stem lying between the notches or recesses 1l and the head is of greater width than the contracted portion of the keyholeslot,whereby the head is retained in the socket and all tendency of the stem to move toward the slot is prevented.

The ring 10, which' encircles the pole-tip 12 of a pole 13, is arranged on a sleeve 14, which fits on the pole-tip and which is provided at its bottom with an eye Y15, into which the ring is linked, as clearly shown in Fig. l2 of the accompanying drawings. The ring l0 is permanently attached to the sleeve 14, and it may be engaged with the eye 15 during the manufacture of the device in any suitable manner. The ring may be split and afterward welded together, or one end of the eye may be separated from the sleeve previous to assembling the parts, and it may be afterward welded, brazed, or otherwise connected to the sleeve to form an integral structure. The sleeve, which ts against a depending flange 16 of the pole-tip, is retained on the latter by a spring-catch 17, consisting of a re- IOO silient shank 18 and a head 19. The shank is arranged within the pole-tip and is secured between the same and the front end of the pole, which is cut away at 2O to provide a space for the shank. The pole-tip is provided at its bottom with a slot 21, through which the head of the catch projects, and the said head is beveled or tapered to present an inclined edge for enabling it to be readily depressed by the sleeve in placing the latter on the poletip. The pole-tip is also provided with an end slot 21, and the head of the catch has an eX- tension 22 projecting beyond the end of the pole-Lip and adapted to be readil7 grasped by the operator to withdraw the catch within the pole-tip and to enable the sleeve to be re- Inoved therefrom. The ring andthe stem are adapted to oscillate backward and forward, and the former is adapted to partially rotate around the pole-tip to permit the stem to spring laterally, and the neck-yoke is capable of rotating on the stem and is adapted to oslcillate and rock, owing to the play afforded by the rounded head and the socket.

It will be seen that the neck-yoke center is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is Strong and durable, and that while it is securely retained on the pole it permits the neck-yoke to have free play. It will also be apparent that the neck-yoke is adapted to rotate partially in a horizontal or approXimately-horizontal plane and that it is capable of oscillating longitudinally and laterally. The spring-catch securely locks the sleeve 14 on the end of the pole, and the pole or tongue cannot become disconnected from the neck-yoke center and fall to the ground should the traces break or otherwise become disconnected from the singletrees.

What is claimed is- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a stem having a head, a neckyoke band provided at its bottom with a socket to receive the head of the stem and having a keyhole-slot extending to the socket, a neck-yoke arranged within the band and retaining the head in the socket, and means for connecting the stem with a pole, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a neck-yoke band provided at the bottom with a socket, and having a keyhole-slot extending to the socket, the opening at the bottom of the socket being of greater diameter than the contracted portion of the keyholeslot, a stem having a head to t in the socket and provided between its ends with a reduced portion of a size to pass through the keyholeslot, the diameter of the stem between the head and the reduced portion, being greater than the contracted portion of the slot, and

,means for connecting the stem with a pole,

substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprisinga neck-yoke band, a stem connected therewith and provided with a ring, and a sleeve loosely arranged within the ring and provided with means for confining the same, and adapted to fit on a pole, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described comprising a neck-yoke, a ring connected therewith, a sleeve loosely arranged within the ring and adapted to tit on a pole, and an eye located at the bottom of the sleeve and receiving the ring, substantially as described.

5. A device of the class described comprising a neck-yoke band provided at its bottom with a socket and having a keyhole-slot eX- tending upward therefrom, a stem provided with a head to [it the socket and having a reduced portion adapted to pass through the keyhole-slot, a ring rigid with the stem, a sleeve loosely fitting within the ring, and an eye carried by the sleeve and receiving the ring, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pole having a tip provided with slots 21 and 21n arranged at the outer end of the tip and ata point between the ends thereof, a resilient catch mounted within the tip at a point in rear of the said slots and extending forward through both of the slots, the forwardly-projecting portion being adapted to be raised to disengage the lower projecting portion, a sleeve arranged on the tip, and means for connect-ing a neck-yoke with the sleeve, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pole-tip provided with slots arranged at its bottom and at its outer end, a catch having a resilient shank and provided with a head extending through both of the slots, a sleeve confined on the tip by the catch, a ring connected with the sleeve and means for connecting a neck-yoke with the ring, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto axed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS DE LA MARE.

Witnesses:

AMMON J. PRUNEAU, E. P. MITcI-IENER. 

